History and Culture

Cultural Heritage: A treasure to be cherished and preserved

Greece is home to a wealth of cultural resources both tangible and intangible which have to be protected and promoted. The country has thus introduced suitable legal instruments and adopted and complied with various international regulations and conventions. However, the management of our built cultural heritage does not stop there. Nowadays, it incorporates spatial planning, combats illicit trade of antiquities, unifies sites, engages local societies and ensures the conditions required for its rational use and promotion. Three Greek cities have been designated as European Capitals of Culture (Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras), with Athens being the first one in the history of the institution.

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Monuments & Sites
There is a wide spatial distribution of monuments (prehistoric, classical, Byzantine, modern) from all time periods in the entire Greek territory but special attention deserves to be given to Central Macedonia (Thessaloniki area), Eastern Central Greece (Attica, Viotia, Evia), Southern Aegean (Cyclades, Dodecanese, Crete) and southern Peloponnesus (Argolis, Peloponnesus, Elia).
Major restoration initiatives include the Acropolis Restoration project while the launching of an international campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles is in conjunction with the creation of the new Acropolis Museum.

Visit the portal Odysseus, the gate to Hellenic monuments & sites as well as Greece’s digital cultural collections .

World cultural heritage monuments in Greece
A large number of the designated monuments of all periods are also included in the World Cultural Heritage list of UNESCO. The Acropolis of Athens, the archaeological sites of Olympia, Delphi and Vergina, as well as a selection of medieval and modern manifestations of culture top the list. However, since, cultural heritage does not end at monuments and collections of objects, but includes traditions or living expressions passing on from one generation to another, values such as the Mediterranean diet has also received a UNESCO cultural heritage status.

Click here to browse through the full list.

Cultural Foundations
Either public or private, established in Greece or abroad, Hellenic Cultural Foundations conduct researches, exhibitions, conferences and education programmes, all aiming at promoting Greek culture and its links to the world.

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Did you know?

• Greece has more archaeological museums than any other country in the world.